"In effect, we’re instructed both to reduce the deficits and not to reduce them. The contradiction is one reason the budget debate perplexes and paralyzes Americans. We are getting a lot of conflicting advice. Can the different goals be reconciled? The answer is “yes” — at least on paper, though perhaps not in the real world. "

"The big challenge for conservatives is to take Ponnuru’s point and come up with an agenda that does better than liberals at controlling health-care costs, so families can spend more money on other things. The problem -- and a key reason I think the pro-middle class conservative project is doomed -- is that conservatives’ approach to health care makes this impossible."